IOERT versus external beam electrons for boost radiotherapy in stage I/II breast cancer: 10-year results of a phase III randomized study.

Background: Intraoperative radiotherapy with electrons (IOERT) boost could be not inferior to external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) boost in terms of local control and tissue tolerance. The aim of the study is to present the long-term follow-up results on local control, esthetic evaluation, and toxicity of a prospective study on early-stage breast cancer patients treated with breast-conserving surgery with an IOERT boost of 10 Gy (experimental group) versus 5 × 2 Gy EBRT boost (standard arm). Both arms received whole-breast irradiation (WBI) with 50 Gy (2 Gy single dose).

Elaboration of a nomogram to predict nonsentinel node status in breast cancer patients with positive sentinel node, intraoperatively assessed with one step nucleic amplification: Retrospective and validation phase.

Background: Tumor-positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy results in a risk of non sentinel node metastases in micro- and macro-metastases ranging from 20 to 50%, respectively. Therefore, most patients underwent unnecessary axillary lymph node dissections. We have previously developed a mathematical model for predicting patient-specific risk of non sentinel node (NSN) metastases based on 2460 patients.

Risk stratification of the patients with Brugada type electrocardiogram: a community-based prospective study.

Aims: Risk stratification of patients with Brugada electrocardiogram (ECG) is being strongly debated. Conflicting results have been suggested from international registries, which enrolled non-consecutive cases, studied with different programmed electrical stimulation (PES) protocols. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the incidence of arrhythmic events and the prognostic role of clinical presentation, ECG, and of a standardized PES protocol in consecutive cases from a community-based population.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in women with pT1a or "microinvasive" breast cancer.

The role of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in pT1a and "microinvasive" breast cancer has not been extensively studied. We report our experience with SLNB in patients with "minimal" breast cancer to determine the incidence and type of SLN metastases, and to study the potential impact on their surgical or oncological management. Among some 3387 women operated upon for primary breast cancer who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy at nine institutions participating in the Rome Breast Cancer Study Group, 251 were staged pT1a or pT1mic (7.

[Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer. Experience of the Rome Breast Cancer Study Group].

We report our multicentric experience with sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer patients. Patients with breast cancer operated on from January 1999 to March 2005 in 6 different institutions in the Rome area were retrospectively reviewed. All patients gave written informed consent.

Depression in patients with acute myocardial infarction: influence on autonomic nervous system and prognostic role. Results of a five-year follow-up study.

Background: Although previous studies demonstrated an association between depressive symptoms and cardiac mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) little is known about the possible mechanisms of this association. The aim of this study was to determine whether depressed patients present a cardiac autonomic dysfunction and whether this could represent the mediator of the influence of depression on their prognosis.

Methods: One hundred consecutive patients with AMI were recruited between January and December 1999.

Platelet cyclic GMP levels in unstable angina and myocardial infarction.

Background: Several studies showed that there is a state of platelet hyperactivaction in patients with coronary syndrome: the aim of this study is to investigate if the platelet nitric oxide-cyclicGMP (NO-cGMP) pathway, that regulates platelet aggregation is altered in patients with unstable angina (UA) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods And Results: Population included 11 patients with UA, 12 patients with AMI and 23 controls. Platelet cGMP was measured by a radioimmunoassay kit, under basal conditions and after stimulation with sodium nitroprusside (SNP), which maximally stimulates soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), used as an indirect measurement of active sGC.